The M3RVSF50 vertical bevel helical gear unit answers a question the parallel-shaft range cannot: how to turn a vertical process shaft ninety degrees without giving up the ground helical quality of the M3 family. A spiral bevel stage at the top of the vertical centreline admits the motor from the side, then two helical stages carry the torque down to a solid keyed output in a foot-mounted frame sized for real industrial duty.
Where a Bevel Input Earns Its Place
Many plant layouts cannot spare the headroom a vertical motor stack requires above the machine. Driving the gearbox from the side through a spiral bevel stage keeps the motor at deck level, where coupling alignment, guard access and electrical connections all become ordinary work. The geometry also shortens the drive train between motor and process shaft, which trims losses and removes one long vertical coupling line from the alignment routine.
Decoding the Designation
| M | Three-stage industrial gear unit family |
| R | Spiral bevel first stage, input at right angles to the output |
| V | Vertical build, output on a vertical axis |
| S | Solid keyed output shaft; H here would denote a hollow bore |
| F | Foot and flange mounting onto a headplate or steel support |
| 50 | Frame size in the vertical range |
The letters fix machined geometry, not just ratios: flange drilling, shaft extension, seal variant and mounting posture all follow from the code. Enquiries are therefore placed by designation or by nameplate data, and a quotation built on ratio alone will not survive contact with the installation drawing.
Bevel Stage Care in Service
The spiral bevel pair runs on adjusted taper bearings, and those settings are made at the factory against a declared mounting position. Stand the unit upright as delivered, fill with the grade on the oil chart, and the bevel mesh stays quiet for years. Ignore the declared posture and the upper bearing loses its feed path - the single most common root cause of early vertical gearbox failures in the field.
Service profiles this build is regularly chosen for: Top-entry paddle agitators on solvent and resin tanks Vertical turbine pumps in mine dewatering stations Clarifier drive heads on potable water basins Vertical seawater lift pumps on jetties and piers Slow-running scraper conveyors in fish meal plants Storm-water sump pumps in municipal pumping halls Vertical process pumps in chlor-alkali service Anchor stirrers on polymer and lacquer vessels
What a Clean Enquiry Contains
Five items let the works quote without guessing: absorbed power or output torque, input and output speeds, radial and axial loads at the output with their sense, the headplate drawing with keyway detail, and the ambient atmosphere around the shaft seal. Overhung load deserves special attention, because at vertical duty the output bearing - not the gear teeth - is usually the component that sets the margin.
From Works Test to First Start
Each unit runs on the test stand in its declared attitude before dispatch, then ships sealed and oil-filled in a braced crate with the nameplate recording frame, ratio and mounting posture. On site, commissioning is a short list: flat headplate, bolt sequence, upright breather, oil level at standstill. A drive that clears those checks asks for nothing beyond scheduled oil work.
Selection Example: Typical duty point
Take an M3RVSF50 unit on a driven machine that must turn far slower than the motor. Motor speed divided by the target output speed gives the ratio, rounded to the nearest available step, and the required torque with the service factor then fixes the frame size. The same three numbers - motor speed, target output speed, required torque - are all you need; our engineers (or the online selector below) cross-check the service factor for your duty cycle.
![gear reducer selection flow chart - ratio and frame size]()
Figure: from motor data to a confirmed gearbox model in four steps.
Common Models in the M3 Series
| Model | Centre distance | Output | Typical duty |
|---|
| M3PSF50 | size 50 | solid shaft, foot | conveyors, feeders |
| M3PSF60 | size 60 | solid shaft, foot | crushers, mixers |
| M3PSF70 | size 70 | solid shaft, foot | ball mills, shredders |
| M3PSF80 | size 80 | solid shaft, foot | kilns, heavy conveyors |
| M3PSF90 | size 90 | solid shaft, foot | mill and kiln drives |
| M3RSF50 | size 50 | solid shaft, foot, right-angle | inclined conveyors, elevators |
| M3RSF60 | size 60 | solid shaft, foot, right-angle | screw classifiers, feeders |
| M3RHF70 | size 70 | hollow shaft, foot, right-angle | agitators, drum drives |
| M3PHT80 | size 80 | hollow shaft, torque arm, parallel | shaft-mounted conveyors |
| M3RHT90 | size 90 | hollow shaft, torque arm, right-angle | heavy shaft-mounted drives |
The table below shows the M3 industrial range: P builds are all-helical on parallel axes, R builds add a bevel input stage for a right-angle drive; S / H describe the low-speed shaft and F / T the mounting.
Application Cases
Grain terminal elevators
A grain terminal powers its bucket elevators with gear reducers. The anti-run-back option holds the loaded buckets during power cuts, and standard interface dimensions meant the old foundations were reused as they were.
Pallet lift in a warehouse
A logistics integrator selected units for pallet lifts. The hollow output bore carries the lift screw directly, and one year of three-shift operation has passed without a single seal replacement.
![industrial gearbox applications - conveyor mixer crusher wastewater]()
Figure: typical industries that use the WGT S-series gear reducers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer a version with an integrated gear motor?
We can supply the unit as a complete gear motor with an IEC motor bolted on and tested as one assembly. That saves you the alignment and coupling work, and the whole assembly carries the same one-year warranty.
How do I know when the unit needs maintenance?
Beyond routine oil checks, watch for oil weeping at the seals, unusual noise or vibration, and any rise in housing temperature. A seal kit is inexpensive; catching a weeping seal early avoids damage to the bearings and gears.
Which mounting positions can be used?
The unit can be installed in M1 to M6 positions - floor, wall or ceiling. The oil level plug is repositioned for the position you order, so state it up front and the unit is filled and labelled correctly at the works.
Drawings, Ratings and Test Records on Request
Need the paperwork first? Not sure which model fits? Try our online WGT Motor & Gearbox Online Selection System to match motor power, ratio and mounting in one minute.
We issue dimension drawings, rating tables and sample test records in English for your approval package, before the order is placed. Engineering and purchasing sign-off without delays. Looking for a gearbox for agricultural machine? Tell us the duty point and we will confirm the model in writing.
